The three-day boycott of purchasing expensive fruit, which lasted from Friday to Sunday last week, showed the public has the will to take a stand against consumer exploitation. Fruit sales were down 50 percent on the very first day of the boycott. At the same time, the boycott showed up the mindless sentimentality of most people who, even though they joined the boycott, felt sorry for the 'poor' vendors who sold fruit on pushcarts.
This sentiment was voiced by all who spoke on TV channels. They included politicians, social workers and citizens from all walks of life. Some of them said they would not buy fruit from shops but would patronise the pushcart vendors. Some said they would not buy from anyone but their heart broke to sideline the pushcart vendors. Some were even angry and said instead of targetting the seller of fruit we should target the corrupt middleman and the hoarders who store fruit in cold storage till Ramazan so as to inflate the price.
This phenomenon of price hike of fruit happens every year the moment Ramazan beings. It is a planned price hike, in fact fruit sellers of every stripe look forward to the hike; so don't tell me the 'poor' pushcart vendor is not guilty. He is in the game. It goes like this: the middleman buys some fruit from the farmer for say 25 rupees, he sells to the market for 50 rupees and the shops and street vendors sell it for 100 rupees. The only people who do not make a suitable profit for their hard work are the cultivators.
You may point out, however, that it is the Bureau of Supply and Prices (BSP) which fixes price, and the normal practice is to raise the price just a few rupees for the consumer market. This may be true in any other month but not in Ramazan. Ramazan prices of fruit and vegetables are arbitrary. Any whimsical price is quoted, with a smile, and the excuse that it is Ramazan and our families also need to enjoy Eid.
This year Karachi consumers expressed their resentment by the boycott. Hundreds of activists using social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp successfully motivated the whole city and got a near hundred percent response for the boycott. Now that the three-day boycott is over, it is time to analyse what are the positive results. The boycott will not affect fruit price much, if at all. But it has made the government sit up and take notice. The Commissioner said he supported the boycott and he and the staff would not buy fruit for three days. The Chief Minister gave his nod and tacitly agreed that the boycott was good.
It has also brought to the front the delayed issue of consumer protection courts which is the right forum for pleading instances of consumer exploitation, sub-standard consumer items, lower grams than that stated on packages and bottles and tins of food and drink, the avoidance of sell-by dates or mention of additives on the labels etc. The Sindh High Court has repeatedly directed the provincial government to expedite the process of establishing consumer protection courts. If the boycott has created an urgency for the consumer courts it will be an achievement of merit. So far Sindh government has shown no interest and the budget allocation for setting up the consumer protection courts has lapsed.
But now the situation and attitude of government can change because the federal and provincial governments are busy improving their act for the next general elections due in 2018. I will not be surprised if the problems of consumers becomes a campaign slogan of some or all political parties. If Ramazan fruit prices can create such a successful boycott the political parties might think consumer issues could win them support and votes from the public too.
Power shortage and water scarcity are two issues which have been played to death in past elections, with the politicians garnering votes against the PPP government for not delivering on these public benefiting issues. But can price hike of food upset the incumbent government's applecart in the centre and the provinces? Who knows, but there is hope.